The Florida State University program in Art History is one of the oldest and highest ranked in the Southeast, and the first in Florida to offer a doctoral degree. The department boasts one of the largest faculty of art and architectural historians south of Virginia and east of Texas. Sixteen faculty members teach in the fields of Ancient (Department of Classics), Medieval: East and West; Renaissance and Baroque: North and South; Modern: American and European; Pre-Columbian and Colonial art and architectural history. Graduate courses offered in the areas of museum studies and cultural heritage provide further professional opportunities in Florida’s capital city. We typically teach twelve graduate seminars each year in addition to a broad range of undergraduate lecture courses. Undergraduate students majoring in art history also take a limited-enrollment seminar at the conclusion of their studies, reinforcing and extending their professional training.

Studying Art History at FSU extends far beyond the classroom. Through an expansive international studies program, students gain firsthand experience of art in London, Florence and Paris, among other world cities. They can also pursue a certificate in Museum Studies, taking advantage of the rich collections and facilities available at FSU’s Ringling Museum in Sarasota and the campus-based Museum of Fine Arts, where exhibitions generated by faculty and students are displayed, and student internships are available. A distinguished lecture series brings renowned scholars to share their work in progress with us, and since 1981 we have hosted each year a graduate student symposium that draws participation of Art History students from across the country. The proceedings have been published in the journal Athanor, which is distributed to research libraries both in the US and Europe and appears in the major online databases.

The Department of Art History, part of the College of Fine Arts, is located in the William Johnston Building, a historic structure built in 1913, enlarged in 1939, and most recently restored in 2011 with the addition of a stunning glass-enclosed atrium designed by Gould Evans Associates.